Pie stunt fails to silence Woolas: see the video

“I am not the first politician for this to happen to and I will not be the last.”

That was the reaction of recently-appointed Immigration Minister Phil Woolas after his outspoken remarks on population figures landed him a custard pie in the face.

A pro–migration group staged the stunt when the Oldham East and Saddleworth MP took part in an environmental debate at the University of Manchester on Friday.

A woman stepped on the stage from the crowd and scored a direct hit from close range against the stunned Mr Woolas.

He left the arena to clean himself up before rejoining the debate and told the Oldham Chronicle: “I am not the first politician for this to happen to and I will not be the last.

Watch the video - click here

It was all a bit childish. They did not say what their protest was about.”

The stunt follows disputed claims that Mr Woolas was pulled from BBC One’s “Question Time” after Whitehall described his comments on immigration as a car crash.

In a week mired in controversy, he first said that immigration would have to be cut to make sure jobs went to British workers as the recession bites. He then predicted the disestablishment of the church of England, saying that Britain had become a multi-faith society.

The Manchester No Borders campaign group, part of an international network resisting migration controls, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

It apparently took exception to the minister's comments that the Government would not allow the UK's population to rise as high as 70 million.

But as the debate rumbles on, Mr Woolas has stood firm, saying that the worse thing to do is not talk about immigration.

He said the British National Party was trying to equate unemployment with immigration workers, but the people that they were targeting in their “bigotry” act on the whole are not immigrants but indigenous British people.

“It’s a deliberate effort by the BNP to confuse the two”.

He said: “The Govern-ment is very clear there is no sense what so ever that we blame immigrants for unemployment.

“The immigrant often gets the worse end of the stick in many ways, but what we are of course doing is reassuring people the economic needs of the country in terms of migrant workers — people coming in and out of the country to work — is balanced with the impact on communities.

“We have to recognise in areas like Oldham the worst thing to do is not talk about it in a mature and calm way and let the public in all communities know that the politicians understand the problems and that is how I would advocate moving forward.

“I think it is very important to recognise a tough and fair immigration system is required, community cohesion is required, but let’s not mix up race with immigration because that is what the BNP want.”